A solar cell module is formed by integrating solar cell panels and miscellaneous accessories such as terminals and generates electricity upon receipt of sunlight.
Recently, an increasing number of homes have employed a photovoltaic system with solar cell modules arranged on their house roofs for providing for electricity consumed by the houses with electricity generated by the solar cell modules.
A means to mount solar cell modules on a house roof includes a structure in which solar cell modules functioning as roof tiles (roof members) are arranged on a roof base and a structure in which solar cell modules are further arranged on a roof with slates or the like.
The latter structure, disclosed in Patent Document 1, specified below for example, is a roof structure in which solar cell modules are mounted by mounting brackets attached to the known slate roof. Specifically, a slanted form of a roof is made by wood and other materials and undergoes procedures such as boarding and attaching of a waterproof sheet, whereby a roof base structure is formed. On the roof base, slate tiles are arranged in a planar fashion. More specifically, slate tiles are arranged on the roof base in a row to form a plurality of rows, each of the tiles being partly overlapped by the adjacent roof member and exposed at a remaining part. Thus, the slate tiles are arranged outspread planarly like fish scales.
Then, holes are drilled in the slate tiles, on which mounting brackets are screwed.
In the roof structure disclosed in Patent Document 1, slate tiles are arranged on a roof base first, and then screws or nails are driven in mounting brackets attached to the slate tiles. At this time, the screws or nails are driven in a boarding of the base through the mounting brackets, the slate tiles, and the waterproof sheet, thereby securing the mounting brackets to the slate tiles.
Thereafter, solar cell modules are screwed to the mounting brackets.
The mounting brackets disclosed in Patent Document 1 each include an upper plate and a lower plate, which define a receptacle therebetween. The upper plate and the lower plate each have two holes formed at the same positions in a height direction respectively.
When the mounting brackets disclosed in Patent Document 1 each are mounted on a roof, a slate tile of the existing roof is fitted in the receptacle of the mounting bracket.
More specifically, the lower plate is inserted in between a specific slate tile and a tile underlying the specific slate tile so that the upper plate is arranged on the specific slate tile.
Then, two holes are drilled in the slate tile through the two holes having been formed in the upper plate. As described above, the lower plate has two holes at the same positions in a height direction as those of the upper plate, so that two prepared holes are drilled from the upper plate through the slate tile and the lower plate until reaching the roof base.
The mounting bracket is secured by driving the screws or nails into the two prepared holes.